Posted on 04/18/2020 6:10:53 PM PDT by robowombat
Unusual piracy attack on container ship Mikhail Voytenko News April 16, 2020 6:24 am
GISIS reported an unusual piracy attack on container ship FOUMA in Ecuador waters, which took place at 0330 UTC (2230 LT) Apr 9, when the ship was under way, en route from Manta Ecuador to Guayaquil. Eight armed robbers in two speed boats approached a container ship underway. Master raised the alarm and activated the SSAS. The robbers fired warning shots, managed to board the ship, and opened 15 containers. When the search lights were directed towards the robbers, they opened fire towards the bridge. Port Control and Coast Guard notified.
The robbers stole part of the cargo and escaped. FOUMA arrived at Guayaquil on Apr 9, left on Apr 10. Crew are safe. It is highly probably, that this attack wasn’t just robbers attack on a random ship with an aim of stealing anything they could. It looks like plotted and planned attack with the aim of obtaining specific goods from specific containers (the ship sailed to Ecuador ports from Balboa Panama). If that is the case, criminals had to know insider information, such as containers numbers and locations, and ship’s plotted movements.
At best, this attack is something of an exception, the result of some criminal operation. At worst, such attacks may become regular. Crime is rising throughout the world, many thanks to “fighting virus” insanity, and ships are no exception. On the contrary, ships are most vulnerable to crime subjects, be it stealing, or armed robbery, or hijack. Ships are defenceless, and the insiders know, why it is so. We’re steaming full speed into an ideal mess.
Container ship FOUMA, IMO 9395082, dwt 18287, capacity 1296 TEU, built 2007, flag Cyprus, manager MARLOW NAVIGATION CO LTD-CYP.
(the ship sailed to Ecuador ports from Balboa Panama)...
Great. Now there will be a Rocky VII
Ships are gun free zones.
Why can’t crewmen receive any training in using a rifle? All that would be required is for two or three crewmen to shoot back at approaching pirates to turn the pirates away ....
Ecuador is having a heck of a bout with Coronavirus as well...
There needs to be a couple of “Ma Duce’s on Board”!
That’ll slow down the pirates.
‘Rocky VII: This Time, Balboa Puts His Prunes On The Line......’
If they declared, most ports would not allow them to port.
LOL
The worst part is at 74 he’s in much better shape than me at 51 :)
But that’s what he does for a living.
I saw a workout of his recently and he works out as hard and brutal as I did when I was boxing in my 20s.
He’s either crazy or dedicated or both :)
Yeah, well, maybe he can look like that at 74, but you can bet your ass we get to enjoy pizza and beer like he never could. And after six months on the wrong side of the grass, we’re all gonna look the same. LOLOL!
I have friends who live on and move around on their sailboat. They have friends who were shadowed and chased by pirates and would have been caught/boarded and who knows what had a container ship not have come onto the horizon. They hailed, chatted and essentially sailed in the wake of the ship for most of a day to get some distance from the pirates.
This happened off the northeast coast of South America on a trip down to Cayenne after leaving Grenada.
You don’t have to convince me!
Satellite imagery begun upon alert will make them easy to track to their port, but will someone do anything other than look on?
The natives are growing restless.
I see a business opportunity. A vessel that hangs around a port (international waters if need be) and holds the crew's weapons while the ship is in port.
So unload them offshore by ferry boat. Or the major shipping companies can start refusing to use their ports.
Hit them in the wallet.
L
In the Caribbean just the possession of a single bullet on a sailboat will land you in prison with your boat confiscated.
As for USPACOM, the biggest Pirate threat is Straits of Malaca, and all the ships wait in Singapore and get behind a USN vessel when it leaves port. That has been going on for a long, long time.
USSOUTHCOM hasn't had the ships to play with until recently....and it's not that much.
These ships have hundreds of containers, stacked immediately next to others. They got into 15. They couldn't have just used bolt cutters to pop a container lock.
They knew where the stuff was and could get at it.
Complete setup. Wonder what they got?
It wasn't fake chinese knockoffs. My bet? Drugs or cash.
Master raised the alarm and activated the SSAS.
```
next time SAS
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